Collapsible distillation apparatus



'April 9, 1946. w. R. P. DELANO COLLAPSIBLE DISTILLATION APPARATUS FiledOct. 2, 1943 WILLIAM R. R DEL/1N0 mom Patented Apr. 9, 1946 COLLAPSIBLEDISTILLATION APPARATUS William R. P. Delano, Syosset, N. Y., assignor toGallowhurChemical Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of VermontApplication October 2, 1943, Serial No. 504,682

.6 Claims.

This invention relates in general to distillation and in particular toan apparatus for distilling liquids, in particular sea water, and tocorrelated improvements designed to render such an apparatus collapsibleand portable.

The need of a simple and convenient method of distilling impure water,such as sea water, for the production of fresh water for drinking andthe like has long been recognized, but this need becomes increasinglyimportant during times of war when the destruction of ships andairplanes at sea forces the crews to take to lifeboats, rafts andfloats. Accordingly, any apparatus for distilling sea water to producefresh water for drinking on lifesaving craft must meet, inter alia, thefollowing stringent requirements:

1. The device must have a relatively low weight per unit of capacity.

2. The device must becompact and occupy a small space when not in use.

3. The device must be resistant to corrosion by sun, air, water and theaction of the salts contained in sea water.

4. The device should be easy to erect and simple to operate.

5. The apparatus should be capable of being fabricated without the useof critical or scarce war material.

6. The device should operate upon a source of cheap, plentiful fuelwithout the use of an open flame which would create a fire hazard.

7. The fresh water produced should be free of salts, of harmful bacteriaand should be substantially odorless and tasteless.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the pres-- ent invention toprovide an apparatu for the distillation of liquids, in particular seawater, which will satisfy the objects above described and meetthespecifications recited.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple means fordistilling sea Water which is adapted for use on small lifesaving craft.

It is a further object to provide an apparatus for distilling sea waterwhich will be collapsible, compact and light in weight, so that it canbe carried in airplanes and installed as regular equipment in smalllifesaving craft.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus fordistilling liquids, especially for distilling sea water for theproduction of fresh water, comprising, the combination of, a sheet ofspring metal adapted to coil about itself, a layer of absorbent materialunited to the inner surface of the metal sheet, means extending from theends of the coiled sheet for saturating the .layer with the liquid to bedistilled, a window comprising a transparent flexible sheet attached atopposite ends to the ends of said coil sheet, and means for temporarilymaintaining the coiled sheet of metal in an uncoiled position wherebythe transparent heet is disposed above and spaced from the absorbentmaterial, and means to close the sides so as to increase an air spacewithin said structure. In other words, the apparatus may be consideredas a closed container formed of flexible sheet materials, the back wallof the container being formed of a sheet of metal which is adapted tocoil upon itself.

For a more. complete understanding of the nature and the objects of theinvention, reference should be had tb the accompanying drawing in iwhich: I

Fig. 1 i a side elevation, perspective view, partly in section, of oneembodiment of the distillation apparatus of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the apparatus of Fig. l in a coiled condition;

Fig. 3 is a view of the apparatus of Fig. l in position for use.

In that embodiment shown'in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the apparatus comprises athin sheet IU of spring metal adapted normally to coil upon itself toform a compact roll as shown in Fig. 2, there being attached to theinner surface of the sheet In a layer l l of liquid absorbent material,the upper end l2 of such layer extending through and being secured inthe longitudinal seam of a tubular member I3 which isattached to theupper end of the metal sheet as shown in Fig. 1. There is attached tothis tube and communicating therewith a water tight reservoir l4 havingan inlet l5 by which liquid may be supplied to the tube l3 and theabsorbent layer 1 l. The liquid seeps from the tube [3 by capillary flowor wicking action so that the entire layer II is saturated with theliquid to be distilled. The tube I3 is conveniently formed of awaterproof flexible sheet material,

such, for example, as a synthetic resin, rubber,

a cellulose derivative or a textile fabric impregnated or coated withone of these substances. The lower end of the layer II extends into andis secured in the longitudinal seam I 6 of a tubular member I! which maybe formed of the same waterproof material as the tube l3, one end of thetube [6 extending through the flexible side wall I 8 to form a spout Isby which excess liquid contained in the layer II is permitted to drainaway. The tube I 6 is spaced a short distance from the lower arcuate end20 of the coiled sheet l so as to provide a lower liquid reservoir inthe space 2|. At one side this reservoir communicates with a secondaryliquid container 22 of waterproof material which is provided with anoutlet 23. A sheet 24 of waterproof transparent flexible material isattached atits sides to the sidsheets I8 and l B and is attached at itsupper and lower ends to the underside of the ends 25 and 26 of the metalsheet II). To maintain the metal sheet. in an uncoiled shape such asthat shown in Fig. 1 whereby the transparent sheet is stretched taut andspaced from the absorbent layer ll, there is provided temporarysupporting means comprising the bars 21 which are pivoted by means ofthe pins 28 to one end, for example, the lower end 25, of the sheet Ill.The upper ends of the bars 21 terminate in pins 21' which fit into slotsin the upper edge 26 of the sheet l0.

To operate the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 for distilling liquid, thesheet I0 is uncoiled and maintained in the uncoiled position shown inFig. 1 by means of the bars 21. The liquid to be distilled is fed intothe reservoir I4 through the inlet 15 from which it passes into the tubeI3 and saturates the layer II. By regulating the amount of air whichseeps in through the inlet l by means of the screw cap 30, the flow ofliquid from the tube l3 down the layer ll may be regulated as desired.The apparatus is then positioned so that the transparent window isnormal to the m g. Fig. 3. Advantageously, the me a1 back may be suppoted upon the chest of a person or upon a sand dune whereby the metalback is heated. The liquid in the layer I I may be vaporized and thevapor will condense on the inner surface of the transparent sheet 24down which it will run and drain into the lower space 2|, from which thedistilled liquid may be run into the container 22 and drawn therefromthrough the outlet 23. Any excess liquid in the layer II will drain intothe tube l1 and run out through the spout l9.

When it is desired to compact the apparatus, the rods 24 are foldedagainst the base as shown by the broken arrows and the sheet material isallowed to coil upon itself as shown in Fig. 2. The flexible containersl4 and 22 may then be collapsed against the end of the coiled device andprotected from injury by means of the removable caps 3| which areslipped over the ends of the coiled device as shown in Fig. 2. Thesecaps may be formed of any rigid material such as paper, pressed woodpulp, plastics, metal, stiffened fabric, and the like.

It will be apparent from the above detailed description that theapparatus comprises three main elements and several optional butdesirable elements. The essential elements are (1) the transparentwindow, (2) the absorbent material, and (3) the shaping means, i. e. themeans by which the article is given form and rigidity and properdisposition of the absorbent layer'with respect to the window. Each ofthese elements will be described in detail hereinafter.

The transparent window The sheet of transparent material shown in theapparatus of Fi 1 should be a flexible but form-retaining sheet of anysuitable transparent material, such, for example, as a cellulose ester,a cellulose ether, or a synthetic resin. Preferably, there is employedfor this sheet material a transparent plastic which is permeable tovisible and infra-red radiation such, for example, as cellulose acetateand cellulose aceto-butyrate. It is obvious that evaporation can takeplace from both the front and rear surfaces of the absorbent layer H.

Since the transparent window divides the warm moist air of the interiorfrom the cool dry air on the outside of the window, there will benormally a tendency of the window to become fogged by the condensationof droplets of water on the inner surface. Such droplets diffuse thelight and decrease the radiation absorbed by the layer of absorbentmaterial. Accordingly, it is desirable to retard or prevent fogging ofthe transparent window. This may be accomplished by forming the windowof a transparent material combined on one or both sides with a layer ofwater-absorbent, that is hydrophilic material, which absorbs thecondensed water and prevents it from remaining as individual droplets,as described in my co-pending U. S. applications Serial Nos. 500,882filed September 2, 1943 and 501,219 filed September 4, 1943.

The absorbent layer For the layer ll of absorbent material, there may beemployed a layer of a viscose sponge, a pile fabric, a layer ofinter-felted fibres; such, for example, as textile felt or a soft,porous paper which has been sized with a water-insoluble substance such,for example, as casein, a resin or a cellulose ester which does notdisintegrate when wet. Since the layer should be capable of being washedand wrung out, it is preferably formed of a material having a sufiicienttensile strength for this purpose, that is, a textile fabric or felt, orsponge.

The absorbent layer is preferably colored black to render it moreheat-absorbent and this may be done by dyeing or pigmenting theabsorbent material with a suitable black dye or carbon black. To insurethat the fresh water is free of harmful bacteria, the absorbent layer isadvantageously rendered bacteriostatic or fungistatic and germicidal bycombining it, e, g. by impregnation or coating, with a suitablewaterinsoluble germicide such, for example, as a phenyl mercurycompound, finely divided ionized heavy metals, such as silver, copper orgold, or by means of an organic substantially water-insoluble germicidesuch, for example, as copper naphthenates, phenyl mercury chloride,phenyl mercury hydroxy quinoline, and dichlorodihydroxymethane.

The shaping means in the present apparatus comprises the coilable sheetl0 and the rods 21. The sheet Ill may be made of any metal'or alloyshowing resistance to distortion so that it will have a normal tendencyto remain coiled. Instead of metal, the sheet In may be formed of anorganic plastic material, in particular materials such as polystyrene,cellulose acetate butyrate and vinylidine chloride polymers which can begiven sufiicient rigidity to form a coilable sheet.

All other sheet materials used in the apparatus may be formed of anyflexible non-porous sheet material such, for example, as an organicplastic, textile fabrics, felt or paper. Such fibrous materials shouldbe stifiened and rendered waterproof by impregnating or coatingthem witha hydrophobic cellulose ester, cellulose ether, synthetic resin, rubber,and the like. In general, all such sheet materials should bewater-impermeable.

Since most organic plastic materials contain residual volatile solventsor volatile plasticizers, they tend to undergo changes in dimension whensubjected to such temperatures as are generated by the suns rays.Therefore, in the now preferred embodiment, the sheet materials, beforeor after being incorporated in the device, are preheated to shrink them,as described in my copending U. S. applications Serial Nos. 500,882filed September 2, 1943, and 501,219 filed September 4, 1943.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending applicationSerial No. 465,366 filed November 12, 1942.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for distilling liquids, the combination of, a layerof absorbent material, means for saturating the layer with the liquid tobe distilled, a closed container formed of flexible material in whichthe absorbent layer is disposed, a transparent window in the container,the back of said container being formed of a thin sheet of spring metalhaving a normal tendency to coil upon itself, means to temporarilymaintain said coiled back in an uncoiled condition whereby the window isrendered taut and spaced from said absorbent layer and a reservoircommunicating with said container for receiving liquid distilled oiffrom said layer of absorbent material.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the lower end of theabsorbent layer communicates with a Waterproof tube having one endextending through a wall of said container.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the upper end of saidabsorbent layer communicates with a waterproof tube, one end of whichcommunicates with a liquid reservoir disposed outside of said container.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the base of the containeris formed by the lower end of the metal sheet, said end forming areservoir for the distilled liquid, one end of said reservoircommunicating with a secondary reservoir located outside of saidcontainer.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the transparent window isformed of a sheet of hydrophobic plastic material having a layer ofhydrophilic material on the inner surface thereof.

6. In an apparatus for distilling liquids the combination of a layer ofabsorbent material, means for supplying liquid to be distilled to saidabsorbent material, a closed container formed of flexible material inwhich said absorbent material is disposed, a transparent window in saidcontainer, a reservoir communicating with said conof being coiled uponitself into a form for storage

